Years active 1970s Name Fleming Williams | Role Singer | |
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Occupation(s) Singer, song writer, session musician Labels RCA Records, Better World Associated acts The Hues Corporation21 Generation Similar People St Clair Lee, The Hues Corporation, Emile Berliner | ||
Fleming Williams: Poverty Child
Fleming Williams (December 26, 1943 – 1992 or February 15, 1998) was an American singer known as a member of the group The Hues Corporation and as the lead singer on their hit "Rock the Boat".
Contents
- Fleming Williams Poverty Child
- Background
- Session work
- Death
- Musical
- Compositions
- Solo
- Guest
- Lead singer
- Backing vocals
- Links
- References
Background
Williams was a tenor from Flint, Michigan. An early group he was a member of was called the 21st Generation, a group that also featured James Cobbin and Ron Murray. The group recorded a single, "I Need Love" / "Hey James" that was released in 1970 on the Tri-City label. It was arranged by alto saxophonist and arranger Willie "Face" Smith and produced by Choker Smith. In the same year, he had his own composition "Poverty Child" released as the A side of a single released on the Better World record label. It was also arranged by Smith and produced by Campbell.
Williams wasn't the original singer of the Hues Corporation. The group briefly had Karl Russell but he was soon replaced by Williams. Williams was actually discovered by Hues Corp member H. Ann Kelley. The group had a no 1 hit with "Rock The Boat" which was the first disco hit to have that distinction.
According to fellow Hues Corp bandmate St. Clair Lee, Williams initially left the group after they recorded the first album, Freedom for the Stallion, which featured "Rock the Boat," and was replaced by Tommy Brown. However, after things did not work out with Tommy, Williams was brought back on board and remained with the group for another few years.
Session work
In 1972, along with former 21st Century bandmate James Cobbin, he provided background vocals for David Axelrod's The Auction album. He had also recorded with Cannonball Adderley and George Duke on Adderley's Soul of the Bible album. He provided background vocals for Lee Garrett's Heat For The Feets album. Along with Jim Gilstrap he provided background vocals for Candi Staton's Young Hearts Run Free album.
Death
Williams died at some point in the 1990s. While several early Internet sources listed September 1992 as a possible date of death, none of them have remained definitive in this assertion (in addition to inaccurately listing his year of birth as 1953), and most other sources, including the Social Security Death Index, list his death as February 15, 1998. Anecdotal comments and speculation on the web have attributed his death to causes ranging from a "long illness" to "suicide." Regardless of the actual cause of death, most sources agree that a major contributing factor was a lengthy battle with drug abuse.
Musical
A musical based on his life called Rock the Boat: The Fleming Williams Story ran at The New McCree Theatre. There was a message about the dangers of drugs in the musical production. Williams as a young man was played by a local actor Marquawan Burnett and Carl Williams played him as an older man.